Frozen Elegy
by The Blizzard Alchemist
Summary: Even in winter, the cold isn't always bitter, and not every day is cruel. But some bargains were never really thought through. AU Frozen, with major spoilers for both Frozen and Cold Days of the Dresden Files.


**"It is the white bees that are swarming."**

**"Do the white bees choose a queen?" ****  
**

**"Yes," said the grandmother, "she flies where the swarm hangs in the thickest clusters. She is the largest of all; and she can never remain quietly on the earth, but goes up again into the black clouds."– The Snow Queen, Hans Christian Anderson**

* * *

The king of Arrendale was a lucky man. He was the king of the prosperous land of Arrendale. The land froze during the winter, but the fjords remained clear for trade. He was married to a beautiful queen, and was loved by his people for ruling with a fair and steady hand. But the couple remained childless, and he feared for the future of his country, for he had no brothers to rule after his passing.

It was only until he wife pulled against his side one night, trembling as her eyes burned with tears, furious with God for turning a deaf ear to their prayers once more that he decided that any price would be worth paying to give his wife a child. The king had a hope that he kept secret from his people, for were they to know, the Church would bring its wrath upon his people. For generations, he and every king of his line had upheld a compact, leaving offerings to a woman that his people once had called a goddess. She had been the defender of their land, said to have kept the routes of trade open and free while the those of Arrendale's rivals, such as Weselton, froze and her people risked starvation.

It was the first day of fall, said to be the height of her power when he began the ritual, leaving under he pretext that he wished to have one final hunt before the season closed, only to break away from his men to be alone in the mountains. The king drew the circle from his father's books into a patch of snow, adding the runes said to summon and hold the interest of the Snow Queen. With his hunting knife, he cut a long line across his palm, letting his blood drop into the center of circle. "Longest Shadow, Queen of Air and Darkness, I call you by the compact in my blood. I needs must speak with thee! Skuld! Skuld! Skuld!"

For a moment, there was nothing, and the king felt very foolish, abandoned by yet another protector of legend, one he had been ensuring sacrifice for his entire life. But as he began to turn away, thunder rumbled above him and the clouds thickened. A pillar of black cloud descended from heaven into the circle he had sketched. The clouds billowed around him, practically choking him. When he was able to open his eyes once more, she stood in front of him.

She was beautiful, as the first ice upon the branches of trees, and .as warm. Her hair was as white as the untouched snow around him, and her eyes shone like the stares with a gaze that was a black as the void around them. Her skin was pale, almost impossibly so, as if she had been formed out of marble

"You have called me good king, and I have answered." The night air seemed to reverberate as the Queen spoke. "I trust that you are finding the terms of our arrangement upheld." There was no question in those words, but rigid surety.

"Our kingdom thrives, and the fjords remain unfrozen, as my stipulated." The king replied. "And the mountains to the north remain untouched, as do your servants in the woods. However, while my kingdom thrives, there is one thing that it is lacking."

"Oh?" The queen raised an eyebrow and the corner of her lip tugged upward in what might have been a smile on another. "Tell me King of Arrendale, what is it that you lack that you would call me to bargain? Are there not scores of people that would rush to your aid, rather than entering another compact with me?"

"There is nothing that they can do. I have consulted with every mountebank, wise man, holy man and soothsayer, and nothing has succeeded. My wife…she remains barren, and I have no heir."

For a moment the queen said nothing, until she broke into a smile so cold and lovely that the King could not decide whether to be terrified or aroused. The Snow Queen seemed to glide over the frost and snow toward him, the light coating thickening into a path as she passed over the circle and all its protections as if they were nothing.

"You fear for the fate of your kingdom after your passing. You look for an heir to someday replace you. It is in my power to give you an heir, and make it possible for your wife to conceive a child. But tell me, what would you offer me in return?"

The king took a step back without realizing it before he steadied himself. "I am resolved to my task. I would pay any price."

The Snow Queen let out a high haughty laugh as she placed an icy hand softly on his face. "Oh, I do believe you would, wouldn't you? How many prices could I state, and you would think to be worthy? But I know what would be fair…you ask for an heir? Than my price would be an heir as well."

The king suddenly gulped as he felt the Snow Queen pressing against him. His senses swam, and his body burned as he gazed down at her, feeling a hand run down his chest.

"You mean-I?"

"Don't you think it would be fun?" The Snow Queen asked. "Everything you asked for, an heir for you to raise, your wife altered the way you wish, and aid from all my servants for the children you bear. All you need to do is say yes."

The king let out a ragged breath, circling his arms around the Queen's waist without thinking. Words whispered in his ears and his senses sang with sensations he never could have dreamt of. He looked into the eyes of the woman who was not a woman down her neck, and lower further still.

And so he made his choice.

* * *

The king of Arrendale was found three days later in the forest. When asked of what happened, he would not speak of it, though even years later his face would turn ashen at the mention of it. The only clue his men would have was that the first thing the king did upon returning was to pull several books out of his family library and burn them so thoroughly that nothing remained but cinders.

Two months later, the Queen of Arrendale announced the joyous news that she was with child. While the child was born early, she was miraculously perfect, with the one curious note that her hair was so blond that it was almost white, far lighter than either of her parents.

* * *

"Listen now Elsa, your powers only getting stronger. They convey much beauty, but also great danger." The troll, the servant of the Snow Queen smiled up at the king with too many teeth. "Learn to control them or fear will be your enemy."

The king felt a shudder run through his body, memories that he had tried so very hard to forget springing back unbidden. Of things seen. Of promises made.

"No." The King replied forcefully. "We protect her. She'll learn to control her powers. Until then…we lock the gates."

_It is better this way_, he thought, _For they have no gifts without a price._

Perhaps he ought to have remembered that not making a bargain, or making an incomplete one has its price as well. As he was pulled further under the icy waves, he thought he could hear laughter.

For Skuld, the Queen of the Winter Court of the Fey, the deal had been fulfilled in full. The king of Arrendale had received everything he had asked for in his bargain: he had an heir ready to take the throne, his wife had given birth a beautiful child that he could be sure was his and his wife's alone, and both children had been cared for into the beginning of adulthood. It was his problem, she would state, that he failed to negotiate for any protection for himself when bargaining.

* * *

The men watched the scene over the ice. Their heroic champion had been stopped from ridding the land of the Ice Witch, the new Queen of Arrendale, when her sister Princess Anna had leapt in the way. For her troubles, the Princess had been turned to ice, a looming statue along the icy wasteland. Even as terrified as they were, the sight of the sobbing queen draping herself over her sister's body gave them pause. They stood back, watching the woman grieve for her sister.

Very few had seen Queen Elsa since her childhood. Of those servants who could attest to seeing her upon occasion when food was brought to her room, none could remember her ever singing, but as they stood watching, a voice carried over the ice, carrying pain and loss in a slow dirge, words interrupted by sobs.

_**The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside**__**  
**__**Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried**__**  
**__**Don't let them in, don't let them see**__**  
**__**Be the good girl you always have to be**__**  
**__**Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.**_

The queen pulled away from the body of her sister, standing alone out on the ice, with only a few hazy figures surrounding her. For the few who had binoculars or a telescope, a slow change of expression could be seen as grief faded. Those who had seen the Queen the other day had seen her frightened. But this was something else. White whispers of ice danced around her fingers as she stared at the group fortififying themselves inside what had been her castle.

_**Well, now they know.**_

The only reward for those who could see over the ice to read their Queen's expression was a moment of warning when they recognized her expression. It was one of quiet, barely contained rage. The ice began to crack and shake as…things began to burst through the surface. Creatures with long claws and pointed fangs that shouldn't have been able to fit into mouths their size. An icy wind swept over the castle, windows rattling in their frames.

_**Let it go, let it go  
I am one with the wind and sky  
Let it go, let it go  
You'll never see me cry**_

_**Here I stand**_  
_**And here I'll stay**_  
_**Let the storm rage on!**_

As if by some accord, thecreatures rushed across the ice, releasing grating cries that rang as an unholy din across the field, sweeping into the first line of terrified defenders.

_**Let it go, let it go**_  
_**And I'll rise like the break of dawn**_  
_**Let it go, let it go**_  
_**That perfect girl is gone**_

_**Here I stand**_  
_**In the light of day**_  
_**Let the storm rage on!**_

Elsa could hear the shouts and screams from the city. She could see plumes of smoke rising, but couldn't seem to care. In fact, there was only one thing she could feel, a sensation that was her oldest companion.

_**The cold never bothered me anyway.**_

"Marvelous work child!"

Elsa span in space to see a woman standing in front of her, an expression of rapture on her face. "We make so many plans and gambits," The woman continued, her surprisingly similar hair billowing out behind her in the icy wind. "It is satisfying to see one exceed all of your expectations."

"I don't…who?" Elsa stammered, taking a step back.

"Don't you recognize me?" The woman followed her as Elsa began to retreat. "Well, no matter. It seems that you have done quite a thing to your sister. Tut tut." The woman clicked her tongue. "That would be tricky to fix."

Elsa let out a slight gasp. "You can…help her?"

"Well, I can't offer such a service for nothing in return. I would need you to do something for me. To be willing to give up your home, give up your privilege…your name even. Would you do that child?"

Elsa looked over at the frozen figure of her sister. She thought about it. For half a second.

"Yes. Anything."

The woman's smile widened. "Good." She strode to the shaking girl, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I have high hopes for you…Mab. I always liked that name. I think it will suit you well."

And so she made her choice.

* * *

"Was it hard for you to kill Maeve?" The Winter Knight asked his Queen.

"I was mortal once, you know." Queen Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness, ruler of the Winter Court, protector of Creation from the horrors Outside replied. She did not elaborate. But some things do not need to be said.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is a crazy, short little story that sprang from a lot of things. Namely, friends correlating Elsa to Mab. And then, an article claiming that "Let it Go" is about Elsa becoming a supervillain. To spite that person, this is a "You want to see Elsa be a villain. THIS is Elsa being a villain."**


End file.
